Mount Athos is commonly referred to in Greek as the "Holy Mountain" (Ἅγιον ὌροςHágion Óros) and the entity as the "Athonite State" (Αθωνική Πολιτεία, Athoniki Politia). Other languages of Orthodox tradition also use names translating to "Holy Mountain" (e.g. Bulgarian and SerbianСвета гораSveta gora, Russian Святая гора Svyatya gora, Georgian მთაწმინდა). In the classical era, while the mountain was called Athos, the peninsula was known as Acté or Akté (Ἀκτή).

Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its nearly 1,800-year continuous Christian presence and its long historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least 800 A.D. and the Byzantine era. Today, over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other countries, including Eastern Orthodox countries such as Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value, and Mount Athos has been listed as a World Heritage site since 1988.

Although Mount Athos is technically part of the European Union like the rest of Greece, the status of the Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, and the jurisdiction of the Athonite institutions, were expressly described and ratified upon admission of Greece to the European Community (precursor to the EU), the free movement of people and goods in its territory is prohibited, unless formal permission is granted by the Monastic State's authorities, and only males are allowed to enter.

The peninsula, the easternmost "leg" of the larger Chalkidiki peninsula in central Macedonia, protrudes 50 kilometres (31 mi)[4] into the Aegean Sea at a width of between 7 and 12 kilometres (4.3 and 7.5 mi) and covers an area of 335.6 square kilometres (129.58 sq mi). The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to 2,033 metres (6,670 ft).

The surrounding seas, especially at the end of the peninsula, can be dangerous; in ancient Greek history two fleet disasters in the area are recorded: In 492 BC Darius, the king of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius.[5] In 411 BC the Spartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under admiral Epicleas.[6]

Though land-linked, Mount Athos is practically accessible only by ferry, the Agios Panteleimon and Axion Estin travel daily (weather permitting) between Ouranoupolis and Dafni, with stops at some monasteries on the western coast. There is also a smaller speed boat, the Agia Anna, which travels the same route, but with no intermediate stops, it is possible to travel by ferry to and from Ierissos for direct access to monasteries along the eastern coast.

The number of daily visitors to Mount Athos is restricted, and all are required to obtain a special entrance permit valid for a limited period. Only men are permitted to visit the territory, which is called the "Garden of Virgin Mary" by the monks,[7] with Orthodox Christians taking precedence in permit issuance procedures. Residents on the peninsula must be men aged 18 and over who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and also either monks or workers.

Homer mentions the mountain Athos in the Iliad.[8]Herodotus writes that, during the Persian invasion of Thrace in 492 BC, the fleet of the Persian commander Mardonius was wrecked with losses of 300 ships and 20,000 men, by a strong North wind while attempting to round the coast near Mount Athos.[9]Herodotus mentions the peninsula, then called Acte, telling us that Pelasgians from the island of Lemnos populated it and naming five cities thereon, Sane, Cleonae (Kleonai), Thyssos (Thyssus), Olophyxos (Olophyxis), and Acrothoï (Akrothoön).[10]Strabo also mentions the cities of Dion (Dium) and Acrothoï.[11]Eretria also established colonies on Acte. At least one other city was established in the Classical period: Acanthus (Akanthos), some of these cities minted their own coins.

The peninsula was on the invasion route of Xerxes I, who spent three years[12] excavating the Xerxes Canal across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great, the architect Dinocrates (Deinokrates) proposed carving the entire mountain into a statue of Alexander.

The history of the peninsula during latter ages is shrouded by the lack of historical accounts. Archaeologists have not been able to determine the exact location of the cities reported by Strabo, it is believed that they must have been deserted when Athos' new inhabitants, the monks, started arriving some time before the ninth century AD.[13]

According to the Athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus. When the ship was blown off course to then-pagan Athos, it was forced to anchor near the port of Klement, close to the present monastery of Iviron, the Virgin walked ashore and, overwhelmed by the wonderful and wild natural beauty of the mountain, she blessed it and asked her Son for it to be her garden. A voice was heard saying "Ἔστω ὁ τόπος οὖτος κλῆρος σὸς καὶ περιβόλαιον σὸν καὶ παράδεισος, ἔτι δὲ καὶ λιμὴν σωτήριος τῶν θελόντων σωθῆναι" (Translation: "Let this place be your inheritance and your garden, a paradise and a haven of salvation for those seeking to be saved"). From that moment the mountain was consecrated as the garden of the Mother of God and was out of bounds to all other women.[note 2]

Historical documents on ancient Mount Athos history are very few, it is certain that monks have been there since the fourth century, and possibly since the third. During Constantine I's reign (324–337) both Christians and pagans were living there, during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361–363), the churches of Mount Athos were destroyed, and Christians hid in the woods and inaccessible places.[14]

Later, during Theodosius I's reign (379–395), the pagan temples were destroyed, the lexicographer Hesychius of Alexandria states that in the fifth century there was still a temple and a statue of "Zeus Athonite". After the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the seventh century, many Orthodox monks from the Egyptian desert tried to find another calm place; some of them came to the Athos peninsula. An ancient document states that monks "built huts of wood with roofs of straw [...] and by collecting fruit from the wild trees were providing themselves improvised meals."[15]

The chroniclers Theophanes the Confessor (end of 8th century) and Georgios Kedrenos (11th century) wrote that the 726 eruption of the Thera volcano was visible from Mount Athos, indicating that it was inhabited at the time. The historian Genesios recorded that monks from Athos participated at the seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea of 787. Following the Battle of Thasos in 829, Athos was deserted for some time due to the destructive raids of the Cretan Saracens, around 860, the famous monk Efthymios the Younger[16] came to Athos and a number of monk-huts ("skete of Saint Basil") were created around his habitation, possibly near Krya Nera. During the reign of emperor Basil I the Macedonian, the former Archbishop of Crete (and later of Thessaloniki) Basil the Confessor built a small monastery at the place of the modern harbour (arsanás) of Hilandariou Monastery. Soon after this, a document of 883 states that a certain Ioannis Kolovos built a monastery at Megali Vigla.

On a chrysobull of emperor Basil I, dated 885, the Holy Mountain is proclaimed a place of monks, and no laymen or farmers or cattle-breeders are allowed to be settled there, the next year, in an imperial edict of emperor Leo VI the Wise we read about the "so-called ancient seat of the council of gerondes (council of elders)", meaning that there was already a kind of monks' administration and that it was already "ancient". In 887, some monks expostulate to the emperor Leo the Wise that as the monastery of Kolovos is growing more and more, they are losing their peace.

In 908 the existence of a Protos ("First monk"), the "head" of the monastic community, is documented; in 943 the borders of the monastic state were precisely mapped; we know that Karyes was already the capital and seat of the administration, named "Megali Mesi Lavra" (Big Central Assembly). In 956, a decree offered land of about 940,000 m2 (230 acres) to the Xeropotamou monastery, which means that this monastery was already quite big.

In 958, the monk Athanasios the Athonite (Άγιος Αθανάσιος ο Αθωνίτης) arrived on Mount Athos; in 962 he built the big central church of the "Protaton" in Karies. In the next year, with the support of his friend Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, the monastery of Great Lavra was founded, still the largest and most prominent of the twenty monasteries existing today, it enjoyed the protection of the Byzantine emperors during the following centuries, and its wealth and possessions grew considerably.[17]

During the 11th century, Mount Athos offered a meeting place for Serbian and Russian monk Scribes. Russian monks first settled there in the 1070s, in Xylourgou Monastery (now Skiti Bogoroditsa); in 1089 they moved to the St. Panteleimon Monastery, while the Serbs took over the Xylourgou. From 1100 to 1169 the St. Panteleimon Monastery was in a state of decay and such Russian monks as remained in Mount Athos lived at Xylourgou among the Serbs; in 1169 the Serbs received St. Panteleimon, which they shared with the Russians until 1198, when the Serbs moved to the Hilandar monastery, which became the main centre of Serbian monasticism; the Russians then remained in possession of St. Panteleimon, known since as Rossikon.

The Fourth Crusade in the 13th century brought new Roman Catholic overlords, which forced the monks to complain and ask for the intervention of Pope Innocent III until the restoration of the Byzantine Empire, the peninsula was raided by Catalan mercenaries in the 14th century, a century that also saw the theological conflict over the hesychasm practised on Mount Athos and defended by Gregory Palamas (Άγιος Γρηγόριος ο Παλαμάς). In late 1371 or early 1372 the Byzantines defeated an Ottoman attack on Athos.[17]

Serbian lords of the Nemanjic Dynasty offered financial support to the monasteries of Mount Athos, while some of them also made pilgrimages and became monks there. Stefan Nemanja helped build the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos together with his son Archbishop Saint Sava in 1198.[18][19]

From 1342 until 1372 Mount Athos was under Serbian administration. Emperor Stefan Dušan helped Mount Athos with many large donations to all monasteries; in The charter of emperor Stefan Dušan to the Monastery of Hilandar[20] the Emperor gave to the monastery Hilandar direct rule over many villages and churches, including the church of Svetog Nikole u Dobrušti in Prizren, the church of Svetih Arhanđela in Štip, the Church of Svetog Nikole in Vranje and surrounding lands and possessions. He also gave large possessions and donations to the Karyes Hermitage of St. Sabas and the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem[21] and to many other monasteries. Dušan was the only medieval lord who spent a lot of his time in Mount Athos and at the same time from there ruled the Empire,[citation needed] spending 9 months there together with his wife around 1347.[citation needed] Empress Jelena, wife of the Emperor Stefan Dušan, was among the very few women allowed to visit and stay in Mount Athos.[22]

Thanks to the donations by Stefan, the Serbian monastery of Hilandar was enlarged to more than 10,000 hectares, thus having the largest possessions on Mount Athos among other monasteries, and occupying 1/3 of the area. Serbian nobleman Antonije Bagaš, together with Nikola Radonja, bought and restored the ruined Agiou Pavlou monastery monastery between 1355 and 1365, becoming its abbot.[23]

Serbian princess Mara Branković was the second Serbian woman that was granted permissions to visit area,[24] as a wife of Murad II, Mara Branković used her influence on the Ottoman court to secure the special status of Mount Athos inside the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] At the end of the 15th century five monasteries on Mount Athos had Serbian monks and were under the Serbian Prior: Docheiariou, Grigoriou, Ayiou Pavlou, Ayiou Dionysiou and Hilandar[25]

Under Ottoman rule many Serbian nobles including ones who were under direct Ottoman rule or had accepted the Muslim faith continued their support for Mount Athos.[citation needed] In modern times after the end of Ottoman rule new Serbian kings from the Obrenović dynasty and Karađorđević dynasty and the new bourgeois class continued their support of Mount Athos, after the dissolution of SFRY many presidents and prime ministers of Serbia visited Mount Athos.[26]

The Byzantine Empire ceased to exist in the 15th century and the Ottoman Empire took its place,[27] the Athonite monks tried to maintain good relations with the Ottoman Sultans, and therefore when Murad II conquered Thessaloniki in 1430 they immediately pledged allegiance to him. In return, Murad recognized the monasteries' properties, something which Mehmed II formally ratified after the fall of Constantinople in 1453; in this way Athonite independence was preserved.

The 15th and 16th centuries were particularly peaceful for the Athonite community, this led to relative prosperity for the monasteries. An example of this is the foundation of Stavronikita monastery which completed the current number of Athonite monasteries. Following the conquest of the Serbian Despotate by the Ottomans many Serbian monks came to Athos, the extensive presence of Serbian monks is depicted in the numerous elections of Serbian monks to the office of the Protos during the era.

Sultan Selim I was a substantial benefactor of the Xeropotamou monastery. In 1517, he issued a fatwa and a Hatt-i Sharif ("noble edict") that "the place, where the Holy Gospel is preached, whenever it is burned or even damaged, shall be erected again." He also endowed privileges to the Abbey and financed the construction of the dining area and underground of the Abbey as well as the renovation of the wall paintings in the central church that were completed between the years 1533–1541.[29]

Although most time the monasteries were left on their own, the Ottomans heavily taxed them and sometimes they seized important land parcels from them.[citation needed] This eventually culminated in an economic crisis in Athos during the 17th century, this led to the adoption of the so-called "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle (a semi-eremitic variant of Christian monasticism) by a few monasteries at first and later, during the first half of the 18th century, by all.

This new way of monastic organization was an emergency measure taken by the monastic communities to counter their harsh economic environment. Contrary to the cenobitic system, monks in idiorrhythmic communities have private property, work for themselves, they are solely responsible for acquiring food and other necessities and they dine separately in their cells, only meeting with other monks at church, at the same time, the monasteries' abbots were replaced by committees and at Karyes the Protos was replaced by a four-member committee.[30]

Russian tsars, and princes from Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia (until the end of the 15th century), helped the monasteries survive with large donations. The population of monks and their wealth declined over the next centuries, but were revitalized during the 19th century, particularly by the patronage of the Russian government, as a result, the monastic population grew steadily throughout the century, reaching a high point of over 7,000 monks in 1902.

In June 1913, a small Russian fleet, consisting of the gunboat Donets and the transport ships Tsar and Kherson, delivered the archbishop of Vologda, and a number of troops to Mount Athos to intervene in the theological controversy over imiaslavie (a Russian Orthodox movement).

The archbishop held talks with the imiaslavtsy and tried to make them change their beliefs voluntarily, but was unsuccessful, on 31 July 1913, the troops stormed the St. Panteleimon Monastery, although the monks were not armed and did not actively resist, the troops showed very heavy-handed tactics. After the storming of St. Panteleimon Monastery, the monks from the Andreevsky Skete (Skiti Agiou Andrea) surrendered voluntarily, the military transport Kherson was converted into a prison ship and more than a thousand imiaslavtsy monks were sent to Odessa where they were excommunicated and dispersed throughout Russia.

After a brief diplomatic conflict between Greece and Russia over sovereignty, the peninsula formally came under Greek sovereignty after World War I.

The self-governed region of the Holy Mountain, according to the Decree passed by the Holy Community on 3 October 1913 and according to the international treaties of London (1913), Bucharest (1913), Neuilly (1919), Sèvres (1920) and Lausanne (1923), is considered part of the Greek state. The Decree, "made in the presence of the Holy Icon of Axion Estin", stated that the Holy Community recognised the Kings of Greece as the lawful sovereigns and "successors on the Mountain" of the "Emperors who built" the monasteries and declared its territory as belonging to the then Kingdom of Greece.

Political instability in Greece during the mid-20th century that affected Mount Athos included Nazi occupation from the Easter season of 1941 through late 1944, followed immediately by the Greek Civil War in a struggle where Communist efforts failed, the Battle of Greece was reported in Time magazine, "The Stukas swooped across the Aegean skies like dark, dreadful birds, but they dropped no bombs on the monks of Mount Athos".[34]

After the Nazi takeover of Greece, the Epistassia, Athos's four-member executive committee, formally asked Hitler to place the Autonomous Monastic State under his personal protection, and Hitler agreed. Mount Athos survived World War II nearly untouched, and for the remainder of the war, the monks of Mount Athos referred to Adolf Hitler as "High Protector of the Holy Mountain" (German: Hoher Protektor des heiligen Berges).[35]

Later a "Special Double Assembly" of the Holy Community in Karyes passed the constitutional charter of the Holy Mountain, which was ratified by the Greek Parliament, this regime originates from the "self-ruled monastic state" as stated on a chrysobull parchment signed and sealed by the Byzantine Emperor Ioannis Tzimisces in 972.[citation needed] This important document is preserved in the House of the Holy Administration in Karyes, the self-rule of the Holy Mountain was later reaffirmed by the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in 1095.

According to the constitution of Greece,[36] Mount Athos (the "Monastic State of Agion Oros") is, "following ancient privilege", "a self-governed part of the Greek State, whose sovereignty thereon shall remain intact", and consists of 20 main monasteries which constitute the Holy Community, and the capital town and administrative centre, Karyes, also home to a governor as the representative of the Greek state, the governor is an executive appointee. The status of the Holy Mountain and the jurisdiction of the Agiorite institutions were expressly described and ratified upon admission of Greece to the European Union (then the European Community).

In 2018, Mount Athos became an issue within the increasingly tense Greece-Russia relations, the Greek government denied entry to Russian clerics headed for the monastery, and the media reported allegations that the Russian government used the mountain as a base for intelligence operations.[39] Relations were worsened in October after the Russian Orthodox Church banned its adherents from visiting sites controlled by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, which includes Mount Athos.[40]

After reaching a low point of just 1,145 mainly elderly monks in 1971, the monasteries have been undergoing a steady and sustained renewal. By the year 2000, the monastic population had reached 1,610, with all 20 monasteries and their associated sketes receiving an infusion of mainly young well-educated monks; in 2009, the population stood at nearly 2,000.[4] Many younger monks possess university education and advanced skills that allow them to work on the cataloging and restoration of the Mountain's vast repository of manuscripts, vestments, icons, liturgical objects and other works of art, most of which remain unknown to the public because of their sheer volume. Projected to take several decades to complete, this restorative and archival work is well under way, funded by UNESCO and the EU, and aided by many academic institutions, the history of the modern revival of monastic life on Mount Athos and its entry into the technological world of the twenty-first century has been chronicled in Graham Speake's book, now in its second edition, Mount Athos. Renewal in Paradise.[41]

Athos is governed by the "Holy Community" (Ιερά Κοινότητα – Iera Koinotita) which consists of the representatives of the 20 Holy Monasteries, having as executive committee the four-membered "Holy Administration" (Ιερά Επιστασία – Iera Epistasia), with the Protos (Πρώτος) being its head.

Civil authorities are represented by the Civil Governor, appointed by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose main duty is to supervise the function of the institutions and the public order, the current Civil Governor is Aristos Kasmiroglou.[42]

In each of the 20 monasteries – which today all follow again the coenobitic system – the administration is in the hands of the Abbot (Ηγούμενος – Hēgoumenos) who is elected by the brotherhood for life. He is the lord and spiritual father of the monastery, the Convention of the brotherhood (Γεροντία) is the legislative body. All the other establishments (sketes, cells, huts, retreats, hermitages) are dependencies of some of the 20 monasteries and are assigned to the monks by a document called homologon (ομόλογον).

All persons leading a monastic life thereon acquire Greek citizenship without further formalities, upon admission as novices or monks. Visits to the peninsula are possible for laymen, but they need a special permit known as a diamonētērion (διαμονητήριον), similar to a visa.

There is a prohibition on entry for women, called avaton (Άβατον) in Greek, to make living in celibacy easier for men who have chosen to do so.[43] Monks feel that the presence of women alters the social dynamics of the community and therefore slows their path towards spiritual enlightenment, the ban was officially proclaimed by several emperors, including Constantine Monomachos, in a chrysobull of 1046.[44]

French writer Maryse Choisy entered Mount Athos in the 1920s disguised as a sailor, and later wrote about her escapade in Un mois chez les hommes ("A Month with Men").[46]

There was an incident in the 1930s regarding Aliki Diplarakou, the first Greek beauty pageant contestant to win the Miss Europe title, who made headlines when she dressed up as a man and sneaked into Mount Athos. Her escapade was discussed in a 13 July 1953 Time magazine article entitled "The Climax of Sin".[47]

In 1953, Cora Miller, an American Fulbright Program teacher from Athens, Ohio, landed briefly along with two other women, stirring up a controversy among the local monks.[48]

A 2003 resolution of the European Parliament requested the lifting of the ban for violating "the universally recognised principle of gender equality".[49]

On 26 May 2008, five Moldovans illegally entered Greece by way of Turkey, ending up on Athos; four of the migrants were women. The monks forgave them for trespassing and informed them that the area was forbidden to females.[50]

As part of an EU member state, Mount Athos is part of the European Union and, for the most part, subject to EU law. While outside the EU's Value Added Tax area, Mount Athos is part of the Schengen Area.[53] A declaration attached to Greece's accession treaty to the Schengen Agreement states that Mount Athos's "special status" should be taken into account in the application of the Schengen rules,[54] the monks strongly objected to Greece joining the Schengen Area based on fears that the EU would be able to end the centuries-old prohibition on the admittance of women.[55] The prohibition is unchanged and a special permit is required to enter the peninsula, the monks were also concerned that the agreement could affect their traditional right to offer sanctuary to people from Orthodox countries such as Russia.[55] Such monks do nowadays need a Greek visa and permission to stay, even if that is given generously by the Greek ministry, based on requests from Athos.[56]

The Athonite monasteries possess huge deposits of invaluable medieval art treasures, including icons, liturgical vestments and objects (crosses, chalices), codices and other Christian texts, imperial chrysobulls, holy relics etc. However the monks consider them for their religious function only, not as "treasures" and most are in regular use for their original purpose, until recently no organized study and archiving had been carried out, but an EU-funded effort to catalogue, protect and restore them is underway since the late 1980s. Their sheer number is such, it is estimated that several decades will pass before the work is completed.

The Julian calendar, which currently has a difference of 13 days from the Gregorian calendar, is still used on Mount Athos; in 1923, as a means to eliminate the divergence existing between the religious and civil dates, after a synod in Constantinople, part of the Eastern Orthodox Churches dropped 13 days and adopted the Revised Julian calendar, which is synchronised with the Gregorian calendar, at least until 2800.[note 3] Although under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual head of the monastic state, nearly all the monasteries of Athos refused to follow the revised calendar and finally, for the sake of uniformity, the patriarch asked the single monastery that used the revised calendar to revert to the Julian.

Also in use is Byzantine time, in which the day commences at sunset as does the liturgical day[note 4] and not at midnight as in the reckoning of civil time, and the difference between the two varies according to the season of the year. Because the time interval from sundown to sundown is not constant, clocks showing the Byzantine time require continual manual readjusting which in current practice is done weekly, on Saturday, if the sky is clear; where the summit of Athos is visible, 12:00 is set when the last rays of sunlight cease to shine on the tip. Some monasteries also have a clock showing civil time since boat schedules run thereon (and on the civil calendar) as well as for pilgrims who may be disoriented by Byzantine time reckoning.

As described above, today the 20 monasteries of Mount Athos are the dominant holy institutions for both spiritual and administrative purposes, consolidated by the Constitutional Chart of the Holy Mountain. Although, since the beginning of Mount Athos' history, monks were living in lodgings of different size and construction quality. All these monastic lodging types exist until today, named as seats (καθίσματα), cells (κελλιά), huts (καλύβες), retreats (ησυχαστήρια), hermitages (ερημιτήρια), caves (σπήλαια), sketai (σκήτες) and all of them are known under the general term "dependencies" (εξαρτήματα) of the Holy Monasteries, the term "cells" can be used under a more generalised meaning, comprising all the above but sketae, and following this term we can talk about three different kind of institutions in Mount Athos: monasteries, sketae and cells.

Some information is already given above, in the section "Administration and organization". A pilgrim/visitor to a monastery, who is accommodated in the guest-house (αρχονταρίκι) can have a taste of the monastic life in it by following its daily schedule: praying (services in church or in private), common dining, working (according to the duties of each monk) and rest, during religious celebrations usually long vigils are held and the entire daily program is radically reshaped. The gate of the monastery closes by sunset and opens again by sunrise.

A cell is a house with a small church, where 1–3 monks live under the spiritual and administrative supervision of a monastery. Monastic life in the cells is totally different from that in a monastery, some of the cells resemble tidy farmhouses, others are poor huts, others have the gentility of Byzantine tradition or of Russian architecture of the past century. Usually, each cell possesses a piece of land for agricultural or other use, each cell has to organize some activities for income.

Besides the traditional occupations (agriculture, fishing, woodcarving, spirit distillation, iconography, tailoring, book binding etc.) new occupations have been taken up, for example taxi driving, couriers, car repairing and computer services.[citation needed] The monk(s) living in a cell, having to take care of all daily chores, make up their own schedules, for the pilgrim/visitor it is worth experiencing this side of monastic life as well, but most of the cells have very limited or no capacity for hospitality.

Small communities of neighbouring cells were developed since the beginning of monastic life on Mount Athos and some of them were using the word "skete" (σκήτη) meaning "monastic settlement" or "lavra" (λαύρα) meaning "monastic congregation", the word "skete" is of Coptic origin and in its original form is a placename of a location in the Egyptian desert.[57] It is in the Egyptian desert where monasticism made its first steps.

The unknown author of the "History of the Egyptian Monks" (Historia Monachorum in Aegypto), perhaps Flavius Rufinus, visited the area at the end of the fourth century, he tells us: "Then we came to Nitria, the best-known of all monasteries of Egypt, about forty miles [60 km] from Alexandria; it takes its name from a nearby town where Nitre is collected... In this place there are about fifty dwellings, or not many less, set near together and under one father; in some of them, there are many living together, in others a few and in some there are brothers who live alone. Though they are divided by their dwellings they remain bound together and inseparable in faith and love", this is exactly the main idea of a "skete", the communal way, just between the eremitic way and the coenobitic way of monasticism, with all 3 coexisting until today.

In 1680 the ex-patriarch Dionysios III Vardalis built in the Saint Anne skete of the Holy Mountain a big central church to accommodate all the monks of the area and in 1689 an internal regulatory text was constituted by the monks and ratified first by the Monastery of Megisti Lavra and finally by the patriarch Dionysios V Haritonidis; and later again by patriarch Kyrilos V, who contributed in its evolution. Since then, more sketes followed on the same way, and gradually the term "skete" (within the Holy Mountain) came to be used only for the monastic settlements having an internal rule ratified by the Patriarchate.

Later on, some cells came to attract many monks, expanded their buildings and started functioning in the coenobitic way of the monasteries, since the number of the Monasteries in Mount Athos was restricted to 20, a new term was introduced: the coenobitic skete (κοινόβιος σκήτη), while a skete of the traditional form was named idiorhythmic skete (ιδιόρρυθμος σκήτη) in order to underline the difference.

The first ones, both in architecture and lifestyle, follow the typical model of a monastery, that of a community living together, sharing and distributing work, and praying together daily; in contrast, the idiorrhythmic community (intermediary between the coenobitic community and the seclusion of a hermit) resembles a hamlet, and the daily life there is much like that of a cell. But there are also some duties for the community, near the centre of the settlement is the central church called Kyriakon (Κυριακόν, that could be translated "for Sunday"), where the whole brotherhood meets for the Divine Liturgy service, on Sundays and on greater feasts. Usually there are also an administration house, a refectory for common celebrations, a cemetery, a library, storehouses and a guesthouse.

A skete is a community of Christian hermits following a monastic rule, allowing them to worship in comparative solitude, while also affording them a level of mutual practical support and security. There are two kinds of sketes in Mount Athos. A koenobitic skete follows the style of monasteries. An idiorrhythmic skete follows the style of a small village: it has a common area of worship (a church), with individual hermitages or small houses around it, each one for a small number of occupants. There are twelve official sketes on Mount Athos.

The Friends of Mount Athos (FoMA) is a society formed in 1990 by people who shared a common interest for the monasteries of Mount Athos, and a registered charity in the U.K. (Registered Charity No. 1047287). Timothy Ware, Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, is the President of the society. Among its members are Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Charles, Prince of Wales, Heir Apparent to the British throne, who is the royal patron of the society.[58] Although founded in the U.K., the society has an extensive international membership, including a large membership in the Americas.

The object of the society, as stated on its official web page, is described as: "the advancement of education of the public in the study and knowledge of the history, culture, arts, architecture, natural history, and literature of the Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos and the promotion of the religious and other charitable work of the Holy Community and monasteries of Mount Athos." To that end, the society works to advance education by studying and providing information on the history, culture, arts, architecture, natural history, and literature of Mount Athos. To achieve this, it produces publications, arranges lectures, and organizes conferences and exhibitions devoted to Athonite themes.

The society also supports and promotes the religious and other charitable work of the monasteries and their dependencies as well as other religious communities with links to the Holy Mountain. FoMA acts as a group of concerned friends and supporters, providing assistance where possible, in consultation with the monastic authorities. Appeals may be launched from time to time if funds are needed for specific purposes, but the assistance mainly takes the form of expertise, liaison, or equipment needed by the monks, the society's American membership founded in 2017 a parallel charitable foundation, The Mount Athos Foundation of America.

As a service to the monasteries and to pilgrims, the society clears and maintains the ancient footpaths of Mount Athos, many of the stone-paved (Kalderimi) paths dating back to the Byzantine era, it also provides on its website detailed footpath descriptions with GPS tracks, and a regularly updated report on the condition of the paths. FoMA member and cartographer, Peter Howorth of Christchurch, New Zealand, working with the society's footpath team, has recently published a new Pilgrim Map[59] which incorporates modern mapping technology with study of early maps of Mount Athos.

Among the society's publications are its annual bulletin (Friends of Mount Athos Annual Report) offering articles, book reviews and other features related to Mount Athos. Past issues are available from the society's web site, it also publishes A Pilgrim's Guide to Mount Athos in both printed and continuously updated digital forms,[60] as well as a yearly directory of members.

^Vacalopoulos, A.E. (1973). History of Macedonia, 1354–1833. pp. 166–167. At the end of the 15th century, the Russian pilgrim Isaiah relates that the monks support themselves with various kinds of work including the cultivation of their vineyards....He also tells us that nearly half the monasteries are Slav or Albanian, as Serbian he instances Docheiariou, Grigoriou, Ayiou Pavlou, a monastery near Ayiou Pavlou and dedicated to St. John the Theologian (he no doubt means the monastery of Ayiou Dionysiou), and Chilandariou. Panteleïmon is Russian, Simonopetra is Bulgarian, and Karakallou and Philotheou are Albanian. Zographou, Kastamonitou (see fig. 58), Xeropotamou, Koutloumousiou, Xenophontos, Iveron and Protaton he mentions without any designation; while Lavra, Vatopedi (see fig. 59), Pantokratoros, and Stavronikita (which had been recently founded by the patriarch Jeremiah I) he names specifically as being Greek (see map 6).

Mount AthosISBN960-213-075-X by Sotiris Kadas. An illustrated guide to the monasteries and their history (Athens 1998), with many illustrations of the Byzantine art treasures on Mount Athos.

Athos The Holy Mountain by Sydney Loch. Published 1957 & 1971 (Librairie Molho, Thessaloniki). Loch spent most of his life in the Byzantine tower at Ouranopolis, close to Athos, and describes his numerous visits to the Holy Mountain.

Dare to be FreeISBN0-330-10629-5 by Walter Babington Thomas. Offers insights into the lives of the monks of Mt Athos during World War II, from the point of view of an escaped POW who spent a year on the peninsula evading capture.

Mount Athos: Renewal in ParadiseISBN978-0300093537, by Graham Speake. Published by Yale University Press in 2002. An extensive book about Athos in the past, the present and the future. Includes valuable tourist information. Features numerous full-colour photographs of the peninsula and daily life in the monasteries. 2nd edition published by Denise Harvey in 2014, which includes revisions, updates, and a new chapter documenting the changes that have occurred in the twelve years since its first publication.

1.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens

2.
Karyes, Mount Athos
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Karyes is a settlement in Mount Athos. It is the seat of the clerical and secular administration of the Athonite monastic state, the 2011 Greek census reported a population of 163 inhabitants. It is the largest settlement in Mount Athos, the major church at Karyes is the Protaton, which is the church of the Protos, or president of the monastic community. Serbian Bishop Saint Sava built a church and cell at Karyes and he wrote the Karyes Typicon during his stay there, and a marble inscription of his work still exists. In 1219 Sava becomes the first Archbishop of Serbia, in the year 1283, Latin Crusaders during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Michael Paleologos, attacked Mount Athos. They tortured and hanged the Protos, and sacked the Protaton and these monks are commemorated as martyrs by the Orthodox Church on December 5. Monastic Martyrs of Karyes Orthodox synaxarion

3.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa

4.
Great Lavra
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The Monastery of Great Lavra is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the foot of the Mount at an elevation of 160 metres. The founding of the monastery in AD963 by Athanasius the Athonite marks the beginning of the monastic life at Mount Athos. At the location of the monastery, there was one of the ancient cities of the Athos peninsula, perhaps Akrothooi, the history of the monastery is the most complete compared to the history of the other monasteries, because its historical archives were preserved almost intact. It is possible that the study of archives may contribute to the completion of the knowledge of the history of other monasteries. The founder of Great Lavra, Athanasius, began the construction of the buildings in 963, according to the will of his friend, Nikephoros had promised Athanasius that he would soon become a monk of Great Lavra but the circumstances and his death canceled those plans. However, a permanent imperial grant, which was doubled by John I Tzimiskes, the emperors gave also the Great Lavra many other lands of property including the island of Saint Eustratius and the Monastery of Saint Andreas in Thessaloniki. This led to the growth of the monks from 80 to 120, the building project, according to the biography of Athanasius the Athonite, began with the protective wall and continued to the church and cells. After Athanasius death, the monastery continued its operation normally, the emperors favored its development and during the 11th century there were 700 monks, while smaller monasteries had been ceded to Great Lavra. In the 14th century the monastery suffered, like all the monasteries of Mount Athos, from Catalan. The result of the crisis was the formation of a way of monasticism, the Idiorrhythmic Way, despite the objections of the official Church. In 1574, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Sylvester, helped and the monastery operated again under cenobitic monasticism, since 1980 the monastery has been cenobitic. The main church was found by Athanasius who lost his life together with 6 other workers when one of the domes fell during the construction, the architectural style of the temple is characterized by the two large areas of the chorus and the prayer. This style was consecrated and was copied by the other monasteries. The frescoes were made in 1535 by the great painter Theophanis, however, the narthex was painted in 1854. North of the narthex, there is the chapel of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in which there is the grave of Athanasius, south of the liti, there is the chapel of Saint Nicholas, painted by Franco Cantellano, in 1560. The trapeza opposite the entrance has a shape of cross and is the biggest on Mount Athos. Its interior is full of frescoes, painted by Theophanis or his school, the library of the monastery is located behind the main church

5.
Vatopedi
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From then onwards, several buildings have been constructed, most of them were built during the Byzantine period and during the 18th and 19th centuries when the monastery reached its highest peak. More than 120 monks live in the monastery today, where extensive construction projects are underway to restore the larger buildings, two large Sketes are attached to Vatopedi, the Skete of Saint Andrew in Karyes and the Skete of Saint Demetrius near the main monastery. Other kellia are also depended on the monastery, the silver and jewel-encrusted reliquary containing the skull of St. John Chrysostom is kept in the Monastery and is credited by Eastern Orthodox Christians with miraculous healings. The monastery also contains the Iaspis, a chalice fashioned of a piece of the precious stone jasper. Vatopedis library preserves a medieval charter, the 13th-century Vatopedi Charter of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria dedicated to the monastery. It was discovered in the archives in 1929. The library holds 2,000 manuscripts and 35,000 printed books, other manuscripts Minuscules 245 &464 Lectionaries 54 &55 In September 2008, the monastery was implicated in an alleged real estate scandal. The monastery is being accused of trading low-value land for state property in a deal with the New Democracy government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. The cost to the state is believed to have been at least €100 million, the financial writer Michael Lewis reports that a Greek parliamentary commission estimated the value of government property received by the monastery at one billion euros. After the story public in August 2008, the government cancelled the land deals. Additionally, Parliament voted unanimously to set up a commission to investigate the deal, however, after investigations, the estimations of the public agencies for the exchanged real estate objects were found to have been in order. In December 2010 a Court of Appeals found guilty and imposed a ten-month imprisonment to ex-judge Maria Psaltis on charges of misconduct, the same penalty was issued to Abbot Ephraim and monk Arsenios on instigation. Finally Abbot Ephraim monk Arsenios and the judge Maria Psaltis were relived from the accusation from Areios Pagos, then, in late December 2011, the Abbot Ephraim was arrested, and jailed pending trial, for alleged fraud and embezzlement. The Supreme Court considered that the decision of the Court of Appeals had no legal justification and presented logical gaps, inconsistencies. Vatopedi at the Mount Athos website

6.
Hilandar
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The Hilandar Monastery is the Serbian Orthodox monastery in Mount Athos in Greece. This monastery represents a point of Serbian religious and secular culture. It is ranked fourth in the Athonite hierarchy of 20 sovereign monasteries, the Mother of God through her Icon of the Three Hands, is considered the monasterys abbess. Etymological meaning of Hilandar is probably derived from Greek word chelandion, Hilandar was thereby handed over to Saint Sava and Saint Symeon with the purpose of establishing and endowing new monastery, which was elevated to the imperial rank. Since then, the became a cornerstone of religious, educational and cultural life of Serbian people. Certain George Chelandarios, who was held in esteem by the Athonites in 980, was probably the original founder of this ancient monastery prior to the arrival of Serbs. The monasterys church was dedicated to the Entry of the Lady Theotokos into the Temple. Soon thereafter the monastery became a prey of continuous looting by the pirates, Saint Symeons middle son and Saint Savas older brother, Serbian Grand Prince Stefan the First-Crowned King provided financial resources for this restoration. Saint Symeon died in the monastery on February 13,1200 where he was buried next to the church of the Entry of the Lady Theotokos into the Temple. He also wrote the Hilandar Typikon regulating spiritual life in monasteries, the Hilandar Typikon was modeled in part after the typikon of the Monastery of Theotokos Evergetis in Constantinople. After the Fourth Crusade and Crusaders sack of Constantinople in 1204, as a result, Saint Sava travelled to Serbia to secure more resources and support for the monastery. He also undertook a voyage to the Holy Land where he visited The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in Palestine, there he received Hilandars most revered relic, the miraculous icon of Three-handed Theotokos painted by St. John of Damascus. According to St. John of Damascus last will, he ordered the Mar Saba monastery brethren to add this miraculous icon to the old prophesy made by the monasterys founder Saint Sabbas the Sanctified. Serbian kings Stefan Radoslav and Stefan Vladislav, who were Saint Savas nephews, significantly endowed the monastery with new land possessions, King Dragutin also expanded proceeds to the monastery and land or metochion income. He participated in improving and reinforcing defensive fortifications, following the end of the Latin Occupation of this part of Byzantium, a new wave of raids hit the monastic republic. Of 300 monasteries on Athos, Hilandar was among only 35 that survived the violence of the first decade of the 14th century, the monastery owes this fortune to its very experienced and skillful deputy hegumen at the time Danilo, who later became Serbian Archbishop Danilo II. Consequently, Serbian King Milutin is considered the greatest and most important builder of the Hilandar monastery complex, in 1320 he completely reconstructed the main church of the Entry of the Lady Theotokos into the Temple which finally took its present shape as it became a symbol of Hilandar. The monastery complex was expended further north to new monastic cells

7.
Dionysiou Monastery
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Dionysiou Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece in southwest part of Athos peninsula. The monastery ranks fifth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries and it is one of the twenty self-governing monasteries in Athos, and it was dedicated to John the Baptist. The monastery was founded in the 14th century by Saint Denys de Korisos, the architect decided to build the monastery in Byzantinian style. By the end of the 15h century according to the Russian pilgrim Isaiah, the library of the monastery housed 804 manuscripts, and more than 4,000 printed books. The oldest manuscripts came from the 11th century, today the monastery has a community of around 50 monks. Codex Athous Dionysiou = Uncial 045 Uncial 050 Dionysiou monastery at the Mount Athos website, greek Ministry of Culture, Holy Monastery of Dionysiou

8.
Koutloumousiou Monastery
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The Koutloumousiou Monastery or Koutloumousi is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. The monastery ranks sixth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries, the monastery was raised with the help of voivodes Nicolae Alexandru and Vladislav Vlaicu from Wallachia. Among the treasures of the monastery is the purported largest relic of the True Cross, the monasterys library contains 662 manuscripts and approximately 3,500 printed books. As Serbian he instances Docheiariou, Grigoriou, Ayiou Pavlou, a monastery near Ayiou Pavlou and dedicated to St. John the Theologian, panteleïmon is Russian, Simonopetra is Bulgarian, and Karakallou and Philotheou are Albanian. Koutloumousiou monastery at the Mount Athos website Greek Ministry of Culture, Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou

9.
Zograf monastery
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The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. The monastery is named after the 13th or 14th century icon of Saint George, the name of the latter comes from the belief that the icon mysteriously painted itself on the prepared board (zograf in Greek means painter. The earliest written evidence of the monasterys existence dates from 980, the Zograf Monastery has also received land endowments by Byzantine and Serbian rulers. The Zograf Monastery was plundered and burnt down by Crusaders, working under orders from the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, in 1275, the reason for this attack was the opposition of the Athonite monks to the Union of Lyons, which the Emperor had supported for political reasons. Since the emperor could not attack the Greek monks without incurring the wrath of his own people, having hanged the Protos, and having killed many monks in Vatopedi, Iveron and other monasteries, the Latins attacked Zographou. Their martyrdom is commemorated annually on October 10 throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church, mercenaries of the Catalan Grand Company raided the Holy Mountain for two years, sacking many monasteries, plundering the treasures of Christendom, and terrorising the monks. Of the 300 monasteries on Athos at the beginning of the 14th century, but the monastery recovered quickly with the help of grants and support from the Palaeologue Emperors and the princes of the Danubian Principalities. The buildings were reconstructed in the late 13th century with the aid of Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus. The monastery was given numerous metochia in parts of Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, and modern-day Turkey. The monastery exists in its modern appearance since the 16th century, the south wing was built in 1750, the east in 1758, the small church was erected in 1764 and the large one in 1801. The north and west wing are from the half of the 19th century and large-scale construction ended in 1896 with the Saints Cyril and Methodius Church. Among the numerous relics and other holy objects treasured at the monastery is the Wonderworking Icon of the Theotokos Of the Akathist, since Mount Athos uses the traditional Julian Calendar, the day they celebrate as October 10 currently falls on October 23 of the modern Gregorian Calendar. Today the Monastery has some 15 monks, the monastic library houses 388 manuscripts in Church Slavonic and 126 in Greek, as well as about 10,000 printed books altogether. Two medieval Bulgarian royal charters, the Zograf Charter and the Rila Charter, have discovered in the monasterys library. Zograf Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after the Zograf Monastery, the monastery and its seal are depicted on the obverse of the Bulgarian 2 levs banknote, issued in 1999 and 2005. On March 21,2011, the Bulgarian National Bank issued a silver coin with nominal value of 10 levs featuring the monastery. As Serbian he instances Docheiariou, Grigoriou, Ayiou Pavlou, a monastery near Ayiou Pavlou and dedicated to St. John the Theologian, panteleïmon is Russian, Simonopetra is Bulgarian, and Karakallou and Philotheou are Albanian. Zograf Monastery at Pravoslavieto. com Zograf Monastery at the Mount Athos website 26 Martyrs of the Zographou Monastery on Mt. Athos at the hands of the Crusaders Orthodox icon and synaxarion, the Holy Martyrs of Zographou from The Prologue from Ohrid

10.
Simonopetra
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Simonopetra Monastery, also Monastery of Simonos Petra, is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. Simonopetra ranks thirteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries, the monastery is located in the southern coast of the Athos peninsula, between the Athonite port of Dafni and Osiou Grigoriou monastery. While the southern coast of Athos is quite rugged in general and it is built on top of a single huge rock, practically hanging from a cliff 330 metres over the sea. The monastery currently houses 54 monks, and the hegumen is Archimandrite Eliseus, the monastery was founded during the 13th century by Simon the Athonite, who was later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Osios Simon the Myrrohovletes. The original monastery was called by Simon New Bethlehem and is to this day dedicated to the Nativity of Jesus, in 1364, the Serbian despot Jovan Uglješa funded the renovation and expansion of the monastery. Russian pilgrim Isaiah wrote that, by the end of the 15th century, in 1581, Simonopetra was destroyed by a fire, in which a large portion of the monks died. Evgenios, the monasterys abbot traveled to the Danubian Principalities hoping to raise funds to rebuild the monastery, the most important donor was Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, who donated large portions of land as well as money to the monastery. The monastery was burnt in 1626, and the last great fire happened in 1891. During recent centuries, the monks of the monastery were traditionally from Ionia in Asia Minor, however, during the mid 20th century the brotherhood was greatly thinned out because of a great reduction in the influx of new monks. The monastery consists of several multi-storeyed buildings, the main being in the place of the original structure, the main building has been described as the most bold construction of the peninsula. The monks of Simonopetra traditionally count the floors from top to bottom, thus the top floor is the first floor, the monastery is built on top of the underlying massive rock, and the rock runs through the lower floors. The expansion and development of Simons original structure almost always followed one of the great fires. Following the 1580 fire and with the funds gathered by abbot Evgenios, the eastern building was built following the 1891 fire mostly with funds raised in Russia. The choir of Simonopetra has grown in reputation among Byzantine music specialists and enthusiasts, the monastery has published a series of collections of ecclesiastic Byzantine chants by the choir. Of these, Agni Parthene is the most popular and has earned the choir and the monastery widespread recognition

11.
Xenophontos monastery
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Xenophontos monastery is an Orthodox Christian monastery in the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands by the sea, on the shore of the Athos peninsula. It was built in the tenth or eleventh century, the monastery is dedicated to St George and has 11 chapels inside and 6 outside. The main church was built just prior to the Greek Revolution of 1821 and is in the neo-classical style and it is perhaps the largest on Mt Athos and has perfect acoustics. Abbot Alex is the leader as of 2015, extensive renovations are being done with money provided by the Greek Government and the EC, many of the workers are from Albania and live nearby. The monastery ranks sixteenth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries, the community has about 55 working monks. Most are Greek, with two senior monks being American, the library contains c.300 manuscripts and 4,000 printed books. Xenophontos monastery at the Mount Athos website Holy Monastery of Xenofontos Greek Ministry of Culture

12.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder